Linux

[wink740]

Like many people, I'm tired of Mirosoft!!

Thinking of changing to Linux and I'm interested in your opinions, experiances, and problems.

 

[Ezzie]

Pardon my stupidity, but, what's Linux?

 

[wink740]

It's an operating system like windows only free. It is now supposed to be as good as windows or better and without all the problems.

Thus my question.

 

[Ezzie]

Well, hell, if it's supposed to be better than Windows, I say go for it. I have Windows ME and it hates me.

 

[Ice Princess]

Windows ME hates everyone.

I've heard Linux is a lot more stable than any of the Windows O/S's (and definitely more so than that piece of shit Windows ME)but that the big problem is software availability and compatibility.

 

[redrock911]

Plus Linux doesnt have all the overhead that a windows O/s has. Therefore running much quicker than windows. We just built a Linux box at work and are playing with it now, its interesting. Will take a bit to learn it well though.

 

[Ezzie]

Windows ME hates everyone.

Glad to know it's not just me.

 

[glock800]

hmm i never tried linux before right now im using windows xp professional and i think its the best windows O/S yet but everyone says linux is better i might switch to it but not until it supposts all software

 

[themanwhocant]

ME :O Me is by far the worst OS I have ever used, win 98/95 a close second. I use win 2k now, stable as hell, but still not a patch on linux if you can live with it's issues.

Bu that I mean if there are any windows programs you really use now and couldn't live without, u'd have to adapt. Hardware support is there for *most* things, and there are programs that offer full support/compatability with windoze office if thats ure bag.

Best solution if you want to toy with it is to set up a dual boot, so if u can't get to grips with it, u've still got ure windows install to use.

Linux is defaintly better, but depending on what you do, u may just go 'hmm, nice, but is' not windows' try it and see

 

[wink740]

Linux has two systems that I have found that allow you to run them in the same partition as windows. Saves A lot of work not having to repartition your hard drive.

I plan on backing up all my important files before I try it. Just want some feedback from anyone who is using the system.

I also am plaged with "ME" And yes ,it is the worst op system in history!!

 

[redrock911]

Also running XP Pro here, and it is wonderful compared to win9x/me

 

[MisterHappy]

one dork's advice ...

if you even have to ask the question "should I use Linux?" the answer is no ... the problem with Linux or any other flavor of UNIX for most users (beside not being able to use MS Office) is that getting everything set up and working how you want it to can be next to impossible ... for example, many DVD players and digital cameras don't have UNIX drivers written for them so they wouldn't work ... also configuring everything to be how you want it can be challenging ... my point is that even if you are quite adept with computers Linux can be a huge pain in the ass ...

both XP and 2000 are vast improvements over other Microsoft operating systems (expecially over ME) so you might upgrade ... if that isn't good enough buy a Mac with OS X ... OS X is actually a flavor of UNIX ... OS X even has a pretty GUI (graphical user interface) and you can buy programs like MS Office for it ...

just one dork's advice ...

-MisterHappy

 

[wink740]

AS I said, I'm looking for peoples opinions, pro or con.

Maybe I should have done A poll. Most of my responces have been PM's so the rest of you don't know how the advice is running.

All coments are welcome so please don't be shy!

 

[Rod Hardwick]

I'm the system administrator for a network with about 250 computers, running several different operating systems (Windows, Linux, Solaris, Digital Tru64). I consider myself a Linux guru, and I gotta tell ya, there are some really good points, and some really bad ones.

First, the good. Linux is very stable. Checking the uptime on the linux computer I have sitting next to me...it's been running for 45 days. The only reason it went down in the first place was a power failure. I' ve had linux machines go six months without a reboot. My windows XP machine I generally have to restart about once every three days, more if I've been playing video games.

Linux is very powerful. You have complete control over the operating system. You can type a single command line and perform a task that would require clicking through twelve different menus in Windows.

Linux is free. Not only that, but almost all software for linux is free. A lot of it is very good, too.

Virus immunity. Remember all those nasty virii last year? I LOVE YOU, Code Red, Nimda, AnnaKournikova, etc? All Windows viruses. I've never even seen a linux virus in the wild.

Software compatibility and availability has gotten much, much better for Linux in the past few years. No, there is no Microsoft Office for Linux, but there is Open Office, Star Office, koffice, and several others, which will do most things you're interested in. They can often also open and save Word .doc files, so you can still trade documents with friends. There's no Adobe Photoshop, but there is the GIMP, which will do about 90% of the stuff Photoshop 7 does, and it's free.

Now the bad. Linux has a steep, and I mean STEEP learning curve. I highly, highly recommend that you find a real life friend who knows how to use Linux very well, and get him to set you up and show you the ropes. He'll get annoyed by your constant questions pretty quickly, so make sure you 1) buy a book and 2) get used to searching the internet for help. Bookmark tldp.org, The Linux Documentation Project.

Hardware support on linux is...questionable. Generally, your important stuff, like your sound card, video card, network adapter, etc, will all work fine out of the box. Even if they don't, so long as your equipment isn't too exotic, you should be able to find drivers on the internet. Getting on the internet may be a hurdle, though. If you use a modem, you're just about screwed. About 95% of modems these days are WinModems. WinModems use part of the windows OS to handle their firmware (the software that controls the modem hardware) and linux can't copy that. If you have an EXTERNAL cable or DSL modem, though, you should be fine. Roaring Penguin PPPoE software works great (I use it).

Web browsing can be a bit of a pain with Linux. Don't get me wrong, the browsers are pretty good, especially the new Mozilla versions (1.0+...1.1 alpha runs like a dream). However, Internet Explorer under windows ALWAYS boots up faster, because the .dll's (library files) it needs to operate are loaded whenever you turn on the computer. Mozilla (or Konquerer or Opera or any of the myriad of other Linux browsers) can all render a page pretty quickly...but not always correctly. The problem isn't their fault, though, it's Microsoft's. IE recognizes all kinds of crazy, non-standard extensions to HTML to provide for a "more dynamic web browsing experience." Sure, that's great, but it's proprietary, and they don't play with their competitors, like Linux. Many website authors don't care about compatibility, since about 95% of people on the internet use IE (and noooooo...of course MS isn't a monopoly!!! sigh...) So, why go to all the extra work to make their website compatible, if you're only going to appease the 5% of geeks who run something else? Oh, and thanks Literotica webmasters, your site looks great on all the operating systems I use Anyway, sometimes you're just screwed. The site won't even let you in if you aren't browsing with IE. Hotmail? forget it. My bank won't let me use their website unless I use IE. If you're running Linux only, you're SOL.

Finally, software availability. I said it was better, I didn't say it was perfect. There are still programs for windows for which no counterpart exists in Linux (and vice-versa, of course, but casual users are generally interested in Windows multimedia goodies Linux may lack, whereas Linux has powerful development and administrations tools missing in windows). If you like video games...don't even bother. Sometimes game companies port their products to Linux...but very rarely, and usually a long, long time after the Windows launch.

So, which will it be? Windows, or Linux? Me, I choose both. I have two computers on my desk at work and at home. One runs WindowsXP Pro, the other runs Red Hat Linux 7.3. My laptop dual-boots when I'm on the road.

I hope my advice helped.

Cheers.

 

[glock800]

question for Rod Hardwick or anyone who can answer this

ok i read you post and im thinking about trying linux but i dont want to put it on my PC yet i was thinking of just buying an older model PC and putting linux on it to try and get used to it and see how i like it but i have a few questions number one what are the minimum system requirements to run linux(CPU speed ect.)?and second you were talking about the problem with compatible modems that will work with linux so what would happen if i connect the PC with linux to my own PC which runs on Windows xp pro through a network card?then will i be able to set up to use the same connection for both PC's?thanx for your time

 

[Rod Hardwick]

Hi Glock.

Generally, the system reqs for Linux are much lower than they are for Windows. My Linux computer right now, running Red Hat 7.3, is a Pentium II 400MHz with 384MB RAM. You probably don't need that much RAM, though...256MB should do. I only need it because I also use that computer as a server. Anyway, it runs X (the Linux/Unix graphical user interface) just fine.

As for the network card, that should work, too. You just have to enable Internet Connection Sharing on your Windows PC. I'm not exactly sure how to do that, since I've never done it...I use another linux computer as my gateway (a Pentium 166...it's useful for a gateway/router, but would make a terrible desktop machine/server). Anyway, I'm certain it's possible...you just need to ask a Windows guru how to set up internet connection sharing.

 

[Ling]

Without trying to get into a distro war ... I thought I'd mention that I found SuSE easy to get along with when I was a beginner (and certainly a very complete set of software).

I've moved on a bit now, and I use Debian on all my Linux machines (WinXP on my main desktop still). I like Debian's way of doing things like configuration, and the package management stuff (very easy to install new software, typically one command and perhaps some menus to configure it).

http://www.debian.org
http://www.suse.de

Oh, and http://www.linuxiso.org is a good place to download ready-to-go copies of Linux

 

[Rod Hardwick]

I've never used SuSe, but apt-get on Debian is pretty damn nice. Generally, though, I use Red Hat, simply because that's what I started on. Even though it's not as "easy" as some of the other distros try to be, like Mandrake, I found that it was the easiest to get help with. More people use Red Hat than any other distro, so if I ran into a problem and found a HOWTO on the 'net, chances are it was written by somebody using Red Hat, simply because more people use Red Hat.

 

[wink740]

Some very helpful info........ thanks much!

I am concidering installing "Phat Linux" as it will dual boot and run with windows allowing me to play with it and learn how to use it and still have windows access to everything until I am ready to make the permant change.

Not to woried about internet access as I soon will have DSL.

Biggest problem now is downloading A copy..... with my present connection it will take 32 - 46 hours to download.

Time to find some one with A high speed connection!!

 

[Rod Hardwick]

Any Linux distro will dual boot...it's all handled by the bootloader, and every distro out there uses either LILO or GRUB, both of which can easily handle a dual boot. I've never heard of "Phat Linux," but if that's your distro of choice, more power to ya.

Also, if you want, you can buy most distros on CD for about $35 ~ $50, which is not a bad deal at all, and helps the linux comapnies stay in business.

 

[SJG555]

One suggestion, which I have done in the past, would be to go to a bookstore and look in the clearance rack. They usually are full of Linux books that include the package on cd. I've gotten them for as little as a dollar in the past and they may only be a revision or two behind. This way you get the cd and a book on how to run the thing, plus if the version of the software is new enough, you can usually update it by downloading and installing an update patch. If nothing else you can try the package and decide if it is what you want, before you waste the hours of download time.

 

[wink740]

The book store idea is great....... One problem...... closest
book store is A 4 hour drive!!

It's what happens when you live in the sticks.

My DSL will be hooked up in three weeks. I think I can wait that long to download the program!

I found "Phat Linux" when I did my web search.(along with about 2000 others) It has the most feathures with one of the smallest download sizes. Most of the others had A lot of things that I don't need at this time.

 

[Jedi_Outcast]

I prefer mandrake, it's the easiest for people new to linux. I had no problems installing and getting it running and I have Zero linux experience. version 9 should be out in september, it has KDE 3 and other things which make it more winXPish. (the linux guys cringe, but MS does know UIs)

 

[wink740]

I might have to check it out. I will have my DSL the first week in sept. so the timing will be good also.

So many decisions when you decide to dump Billy boy.......

 

[Guest]

Well, Linux is a bit too complicated for me, I'll stick to Windows untill a better version of Linux cums out...did I say that? I meant come...